One of the reasons that I love my Smartboard is that, because it is touch-sensitive, I'm not stuck with using a specific pen in order to manipulate the screen. Now, nine times out of ten, that wouldn't matter. BUT, when you factor in the fun of throwing a koosh ball at the screen, it matters a lot! I recently became aware of some of the already created Koosh ball templates available on Smart Exchange that allow users to throw a ball at the board in order to trigger a review question. The Koosh ball file works something like this: The first page of the file is a plain background covered with circles. The student throws a Koosh ball at the board and, depending on which circle is hit, it activates a question that the teacher has typed into the template. The students love being given permission to throw something at the board, and the teacher loves that students are volunteering to answer questions. Everyone is happy! But why stop there? Why not employ other devices to use with the Smartboard: paint brushes, pointers, fly swatters? I recently saw a colleague create a lesson where her students used a toothbrush to reveal questions about hygeine. Note: For more Smart Board resources, visit my Smart Board page HERE.

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Jessica Pilgreen is a high school English teacher, a Doctoral student at University of Missouri St. Louis, and a technology enthusiast. The main purpose of this blog is to help her keep track of all of the fabulous tools out there that she has encountered, but if she can help a few others along the way, that's good, too.